By District Attorney Randy McGinley:
As of April 28, 2025, Governor Kemp signed a new Georgia law that will dramatically reshape how the Georgia criminal justice system responds to youth gun violence. Under this law, which became effective that date, aggravated assaults committed with a firearm (typically covers threatening or shooting at someone with a gun, regardless of whether it results in injury) by 13- to 16-year-olds will no longer be handled in juvenile court. Instead, Superior Court – the court that handles adult defendants – will have exclusive jurisdiction.
This change is a response to the rise of youth gun violence in communities across Georgia. It should be clear that the people of Georgia have grown tired of youth gun violence. People feel less safe in their parks and neighborhoods and young men and women continue to lose their lives in Newton and Walton Counties because of gun crimes committed by teenagers. The people of Georgia have had enough, and their representatives have sent a strong message with this new law: if you commit a violent crime with a gun, you will face adult consequences.
Aggravated assault with a firearm is a serious crime, carrying a penalty of 1 to 20 years on probation or in prison. The minimum penalty can increase significantly when the victim is in law enforcement, is a teacher, is elderly, or is in another protected category. Additionally, every aggravated assault with a firearm is also an additional felony crime: possession of a firearm during commission of a felony. This adds up to an additional 5 years, which must be served after the sentence for the aggravated assault. When there are multiple victims, crimes against each victim constitute separate offenses. A teenager involved in a shooting that harms or threatens multiple victims could face up to 25 years per victim.
A moment of bad judgment or giving in to peer pressure could lead to a teenager facing decades in prison and a lifetime as a convicted felon. And yet, prison time is not the most
tragic consequence of youth gun violence – it is the loss of life. Year after year, gun related deaths remain the leading cause of death for children and teens, even more than car crashes and cancer.
In addition to aggravated assaults with firearms, attempted murder and terroristic acts against a school join the list of crimes for which 13-16-year-olds will be prosecuted as adults. The list still includes murder, armed robbery with a firearm, rape, and aggravated sex crimes.
No one in the criminal justice system enjoys handling cases with young defendants facing decades in prison. As a prosector, I swore an oath to uphold the laws of Georgia, and protecting the communities in my jurisdiction is a priority. I will continue to zealously prosecute those that commit violent crimes in Newton and Walton, including when a teenager commits violence.
I cannot count the number of times I have seen family members come into court for their teenage son and profess to the judge that they will watch their son (let’s be honest, it is rarely young women in his position) if the court just lets him out. And all too often, there are numerous social media images of their 13–16-year-old son with firearms, sometimes assault rifles or handguns with extended magazines, that the family was, somehow, unaware of.
Georgia has changed the law to protect its communities. But there is a still deeper challenge – protecting our youth from being involved in gun violence. That demands a collective effort from parents, the schools, and community leaders. If our communities want to try to prevent these crimes before they occur, then the effort needs to occur BEFORE the criminal justice systems is involved, BEFORE a 13–16-year-old is standing in court facing decades in prison for shooting up a house. If there hasn’t been a wake-up call before, let this be it. Our families and our youth need to know the consequences they could face if they use a gun illegally.
Randy McGinley
District Attorney
Alcovy Judicial Circuit
